Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is a stalwart critic of recent Air Force decisions and is likely to continue his opposition to the service's planned force structure changes into next year as he takes over the Senate Armed Services Committee.
McCain's fiery questioning of Air Force leadership and continued opposition to key service plans, such as the retiring of the A-10 and limiting planned limited competition for space launches, have has been constant in the service's force structure hearings on the Hill.
McCain said his frustration applies across the the Pentagon, where outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and service leaders have not communicated enough with Congress in the early stages of budget planning.
"The Air Force is not independent of the Department of Defense," McCain told Air Force Times in an interview before Hagel announced Nov. 24 that he was stepping down. "[Former Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates used to call us over a lot. Or come over and visit with us a lot. I don't know the last time that Secretary Hagel or the cChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came over strictly on a budgetary issue or a planning issue. I can't remember, frankly."
Four days before Hagel announced his resignation, he visited McCain, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. The visit was the first in memory, according to McCain.
The largest fireworks in future budget battles will likely come from under McCain's gavel, as he takes over chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee in January.
While McCain's famous ire toward the Air Force goes back years -- most notably the senator berated the Air Force's deal with Boeing for the next generation tanker about 10 years ago. hHe has publicly gone after top Air Force leaders on several programs in the most recent budget season, most notably the Air Force's plans to retire the A-10. At a hearing earlier this year, McCain told Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh not to "insult my intelligence," regarding the Air Force's position that the B-1 bomber is a in viable a close-air support alternative to the A-10.
McCain also again berated Welsh during an April Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about F-35 cost overruns.
"General Welsh, it's somewhat amusing to hear you defend the F-35 again," McCain said. "The first trillion-dollar weapons system in history plagued by incredible inefficiency and waste, and this shocking story of the really serious problems we have with acquisition in America."
And McCain had scathing words to counter the Air Force's position that it has little flexibility in its budget, and that if Congress makes changes, other programs would be negatively affected. McCain referred specifically to comments made a few weeks before the hearing by Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, the service's then-military deputy for acquisition who retired Sept. 1.
"I don't need to be told by an Air Force general about cost savings and what we need to defend this nation," McCain said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "And the role of this committee is to see that that is done. So I hope you will mention to Lt. Gen. Charles Davis that we are fulfilling our responsibilities and our role. And the F-35 is certainly an example of us perhaps not doing enough."
Another favorite target has been the service's plans for future space launches, largely the planned block buy of 36 launches from United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Competitor SpaceX has pushed to be certified and a part of future evolved expended launch vehicle competition, and had filed a lawsuit this summer to open more launches for competition. Another group of launches, up to eight, has been put up for open competition.
In response to the SpaceX lawsuit, now-retired Gen. William Shelton, former commander of Air Force Space Command, said that "generally, the person you're going to do business with doesn't you don't sue." McCain had harsh words for Shelton during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in July.
"General Shelton, you have really diminished your stature with this committee when you decide whether people or organizations or companies should be able to sue or not, and make comments about them," McCain told Shelton. "If some company or corporation thinks they are not being fairly treated, you don't think that they should be able to sue? I mean, that's not our system of government."
In addition to criticism of the Air Force and Defense Department overall, the pending McCain chairmanship has other members of the defense base expecting to see more critical questioning of proposed policies and new contracts.
"He's going to be a problem. There's no doubt about it," a defense lobbyist with ties to GOP members said. "He's going to shoot from the hip. He's going to be thinking, 'wWho can I investigate, who can I hurt?' "
John T. Bennett contributed to this story.
